Recently, a contentious land dispute brewed between the Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government Area in Lagos State, Alhaji Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi, and former Deputy Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Edwards Ayo-Odugbesan, alongside his wife, Pastor Funmi Ayo-Odugbesan.
While the Agege local government claims ownership of the land, the Odugbesan couple asserts it belongs to them. The couple had established a primary school on the site, which was later demolished by the council.
In an interview with select media, Egunjobi shed light on the matter and addressed other pressing issues.
You and the Odugbesan couple are in a dispute over the land at No. 47 Old Ogba Road, where they had established a primary school before your council demolished it. What is your perspective on this issue?
Well, the matter is currently subjudice before Justice Lawal of the Ikeja High Court, so I must avoid comments that could be deemed contempt of court or prejudicial to the case against Mr. Ayo-Odugbesan and his wife. However, we have filed our defence, in which the council firmly asserts ownership of the land in question, supported by irrefutable evidence.
The land does not belong to me personally but to the council, and I am grateful that the people of Agege are taking the lead in safeguarding what rightfully belongs to them as part of their collective heritage.
Unfortunately, I have suffered a lot because of this issue. I have been subjected to police interrogations and an alleged investigation by the EFCC, as reported by the media. My life has been threatened, and I have faced smear campaigns, including unfounded allegations about my educational background and intrusive inquiries into the lives of my wife and children for reasons beyond my understanding.
These malicious efforts seem designed to distract the public from the real issue at hand. As the saying goes, when you fight corruption, corruption fights back—this rings true in this situation. Nevertheless, I am not complaining. I took an oath to serve the people of Agege, and I have upheld that commitment for the past seven years.
For context, this is not the only instance of the council defending its rightful assets. We are also in court with Access Bank over its headquarters, which is located on our land at Oyin Jolami in Victoria Island.
The local government autonomy is yet to take effect as the federal government is yet to commence direct payment of allocations to councils five months after the Supreme Court’s judgment. What’s your take on this?
I am aware of the ongoing collaborative efforts between the state and federal governments to implement the Supreme Court’s judgment. I am also mindful of moves by some states, particularly Anambra, which have enacted laws to maintain the status quo, including the joint account system, and the strong opposition this has drawn from the federal government.
Lagos councils have historically operated with a certain level of independence from the state government. This autonomy has allowed for significant developments across council areas in both infrastructure and human capital.
Here in Agege, under my administration, the council has built four health centers, with two more currently under construction. Schools have been renovated, and some were constructed from the ground up.
Similarly, roads have been built and improved. In many parts of the country, councils cannot fund such projects, leaving them the responsibility of state governments. However, in Lagos, councils are actively involved, making substantial investments in both infrastructure and human capital development on an unprecedented scale.
A bill to strip State Independent Electoral Commissions of the power to conduct LG elections and vest INEC with the power has passed the second reading in the House of Representatives. Do you subscribe to this move?
To me, it’s neither here nor there. Having INEC as the new umpire of council elections has its merit but that’s just on paper. In theory, the prevailing situation whereby ruling parties in states win all councils’ elections from chairmanship to councillorship would become history. But the Nigerian factor may derail it from achieving its purpose of ensuring freer polls at the grassroots. On the other hand, INEC too has not covered itself in glory with its performance and also has a lot on its plate with all the off-season elections.
As a leader in the grassroots where people feel the prevailing, economic hardship more. What would you say of President Tinubu’s administration?
I think the policies are generally good, particularly the economic reforms such as subsidy removal, the reforms in foreign exchange that put an end to fixing the value of the naira against other currencies, and multiple exchange rates that encouraged rent-seeking. Now, market forces are determining the value of the naira.
This is saving Nigeria trillions that previously were used to defend the significant arbitrage between the official exchange rates and the rates in the parallel market. It has also stopped round-tripping in the forex market. I agree that there are unintended, unpleasant consequences but you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. Am confident that Nigeria is in good hands and there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
Your time as the council’s chairman is winding down. Do you have a succession plan?
It’s not within my power to pick my successor. I am not even qualified to contemplate such. I stand to be corrected, there is no local government chairman in any part of Nigeria that’s so powerful to independently pick his successor.
Anointing or whatever is called is peculiar to governors and presidents. As they say in local parlance, ‘who dash monkey banana.’ You may wonder why the Lagos local government election is near the corner and in most of the state campaign posters of chairmanship and councillorship aspirants are scattered everywhere except in Agege. This is because we are all united, under the leadership of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly Rt. Honourable Mudasiru Ajayi Obasa. There is neither PDP nor Labour Party in Agege, everybody accepts Obasa as his political leader and supremo.
